George Clooney as Danny Ocean in Ocean’s Eleven (2001).
Vitals
George Clooney as Danny Ocean, recently paroled casino heister and con man
Las Vegas, Summer 2001
Film: Ocean’s Eleven
Release Date: December 7, 2001
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Costume Designer: Jeffrey Kurland
Background
The first stop that Danny Ocean and his criminal compadre “Rusty” Ryan make when planning their unprecedented multi-casino heist is to see Reuben Tishkoff, their old-time Vegas money man. They show up at his desert spread each sporting a snazzy gray summer ensemble, open-neck shirt, and sunglasses, reflecting the image of old-school Vegas cool while talking to the tacky reality of old school Vegas in the form of a gold-bedazzled and brazenly-robed Elliott Gould.
What’d He Wear?
I previously wrote about the distinctive light gray cotton suit that Brad Pitt wears in this scene, and now – by request from Ryan Hall – I’ll be checking out the more traditional gray sport jacket and slacks worn by George Clooney, both of which were sold via ScreenUsed auction in August 2018 (source: iCollector).
Danny’s outfit follows his general “uniform” throughout the series of solid, conservative tailored wear with a white or dark open-neck dress shirt. The shine of this timeless gray sport jacket indicates silk or a silk blend with a subtle, wide-scaled windowpane grid in a shadowed two-tone gray throughout. Looking at the details, this jacket appears to be similarly styled and tailored to the black suit jacket he wears through much of Ocean’s Eleven.
The subtle grid pattern of Danny’s suit is best seen in this production photo of Clooney and Pitt on set.
Tailored by Dominic Gherardi, the single-breasted sport jacket has wide, padded shoulders with roped sleeveheads. There are patch pockets over the left breast and on each hip, dialing down the formality and better contextualizing the jacket as a sporty item perfect for the context of a summer afternoon (or morning, as Reuben’s orange juice suggests.) The jacket has two flat sew-through gray buttons on the front and three buttons on each cuff.
Possibly also the same dress shirt he wears with his black suit, Danny’s white nailhead-textured shirt from Anto Beverly Hills has a front placket and mitred button cuffs. He wears the top button at the point collar open. Unlike his louder-dressed partner-in-crime, Danny typically only unbuttons the top button and wears his shirt collar inside the jacket; Rusty, on the other hand, often sports his shirt collar disco-style by flattening it over the jacket lapels.
Rusty and Danny provide very contrasting looks, exemplifying the diversity of a gray single-breasted summer suit. Between them, Reuben sits unrivaled in style.
More of Danny’s outfit is seen when he and Rusty get up from the table to leave after veiled comments about previous shared experiences in Belize. His gray lightweight flat front trousers offer a minimal contrast against the sport jacket, creating a suit-like effect. The trousers have an appropriately medium-high rise with side pockets and turn-ups (cuffs) on the bottoms. Danny wears a black leather belt with a squared steel single-prong buckle.
Danny matches his belt leather to his shoes, wearing a pair of black leather Dolce & Gabbana derbies that are likely the same pair of four-eyelet cap-toe shoes that he wore with his tuxedo. According to the costume tag, he wore tonally coordinated light gray socks.
Having baited their money man, Rusty and Danny wait for him to bite.
Danny’s accessories are all functional and subtly fashionable. His sunglasses are gunmetal-framed Persol 2090-S squared aviators with rectangular polarized gray-green lenses. On his left wrist, he wears his stainless Hamilton Linwood Viewmatch with a polished, round 38 mm case, textured silver dial with 3:00 date window and gold and black hour markers, and 16 mm black crocodile strap that fastens through a steel tang buckle. The only other piece of jewelry is his plain silver wedding band on the third finger of his left hand.
The jacket and shirt both make a brief appearance a few scenes later when the gang is plotting in their Bellagio suite, although Danny appears to be wearing them with a pair of darker gray trousers.
How to Get the Look
Danny Ocean proves that a monochromatic gray color scheme can be more exciting than it sounds in the form of a refreshing and stylish summer suit.
- Gray tonal-windowpane silk-blend single-breasted 2-button jacket with notch lapels, patch breast pocket, patch hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
- Gray flat front medium-rise trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
- White nailhead-textured cotton dress shirt with point collar, front placket, and mitred button cuffs
- Black leather belt with squared steel single-prong buckle
- Black calf leather 4-eyelet cap-toe derby shoes
- Light gray dress socks
- Gunmetal-framed Persol 2090-S squared aviator-style sunglasses with polarized gray-green lenses
- Hamilton Linwood Viewmatch wristwatch with a polished stainless steel 36mm case and textured silver dial on a 16mm black crocodile leather strap
- Silver wedding band
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie
The Quote
It’s never been tried.